By Oaklee Fielder, Sports Editor
Soccer faced its toughest opponents over fall break, facing the other top teams in the GAC and losing its first games of the season.
The Lady Rangers’ first game was against the Harding University Lady Bison. Northwestern went into the home game undefeated, and players and fans stated that this would be the toughest game on the schedule.
Harding 3-0 NWOSU
Taylor Annen would be the Northwestern goalkeeper for every game.
The Lady Bison did not hesitate to set the tone early in the game. In the fourth minute, after a corner kick, Harding scored the first goal, putting NWOSU down early. Christ-Anne Mills, Eryn Warren, and Luana San Miguel were able to get shots on the Harding goal, but they were unable to hit the net. Harding scored another goal in the 39th minute, extending their lead to 2. Northwestern had three more shots, but none of them entered the back of the net.
The Lady Rangers were unable to find any offensive momentum in the second half. There were shots on goal, but they were all unsuccessful in adding a tally to the Northwestern score sheet. There was another goal from the Lady Bison in the 86th minute, making it 3-0 with just four minutes left. The Lady Rangers lost the first game of the season against the Harding Lady Bison.
Christi-Anne Mills and San Miguel both had two shots on goal, leading Northwestern. Warren, Jordan Fawcett, Katy Jo Werner, Cambell Tabor, and Jazelle Alvarado had one shot on goal apiece. Annen had 3 saves.
Ouachita Baptist 1-0 NWOSU
The game started with a quick charge from the Lady Rangers as Fawcett gave a shot towards the goal, but it went just wide. The two teams battled hard in the first half, but the half ended with two perfect goalies as neither team scored any points. Although there were no goals scored, there were lots of shots given, 11 for Northwestern and 5 for Ouachita.
The second half started with a shot from Ouachita and a shot from Northwestern. The two teams fired shots back and forth with no luck in scoring a goal. With time ticking away and the two teams battling hard, there was a late yellow card against Northwestern. This gave Ouachita Baptist an amazing chance to earn a goal in the 81st minute. The Tigers did just that and scored a late goal to get the upper hand on the Lady Rangers. There were shots from Jenna Mills and Reese Welch in the last five minutes, but they had no prevail. The Tigers defeated the Lady Rangers and gave NWOSU their second loss in a row.
Welch and Christi-Anne Miguel were the shot leaders. Welch had 3 on goal, and Mills had 2 on goal.
Annen recorded four saves.
SWOSU 0-0 NWOSU
SWOSU is undefeated in the GAC and currently sits at number one in the standings. This game was a battle between the number one and number two teams in the Great American Conference.
The two teams fired shots early in the first half, with four in just the first 10 minutes. Those four shots were the only ones in the uneventful first half. There were a few fouls on both teams, but no penalties.
The second half was a bit more eventful. The two teams traded shots in the first minutes of the half. The shot battle continued into the second half, as no goalkeeper would budge, and they continued to be perfect. Shot after shot, neither goaltender gave in, and the game ended in a tie, 0-0.
San Miguel had an incredible five shots on goal, by far the most on the Lady Ranger roster. Christi-Anne Mills had two shots, but only one on goal. Annen had three saves in the game.
Oklahoma Baptist 0-1 NWOSU
The Lady Rangers looked to get back on their winning form again after a drought of wins over the break.
They did just that against the Lady Bison. In the 28th minute, Christ-Anne Mills scored the first goal for Northwestern since Oct. 1, with San Miguel getting the assist. In the second half, there were shots, but none of them made it into the net for either team, and Northwestern won their first game after a three-game drought.
Christ-Anne Mills, Jenna Mills, and Fawcett had one shot on goal apiece, the most from the team. Annen recorded an amazing eight saves against Oklahoma Baptist, giving even more impressiveness from her shutout.